The present invention is directed to a photographic processing drum having a centrally located processing solution delivery system and a method of operation.
Photographic processors come in a variety of shapes and sizes from large wholesale photographic processors to small micro-labs. As photographic processors become more and more technologically sophisticated, there is a continued need to make the photographic processor as user-friendly and as maintenance-free as possible.
Currently available photographic processors have one or more of the following shortcomings: (1) the film processing time is relatively long; (2) some photographic processors, because of their size, require a large amount of space; (3) some photographic processors may require an unacceptable amount of processing solution due to the design of the processing tank; and (4) some photographic processors generate an unacceptable amount of solution waste due to the design of the processing tank.
What is needed in the art is a photographic processor which provides exceptional print quality while requiring a minimal number of tasks necessary for an operator to process a roll of film. What is also needed in the art is a processing solution delivery system for a photographic processor which is designed to take up a minimum amount of space in the processor, while at the same time providing an efficient delivery of processing solution to the processor to process photographic film.
The present invention provides for a photographic processor having an internal drum design, which minimizes the chemicals or processing solutions required to process a roll of film, minimizes the amount of waste generated per roll of film processing and has a chemical or processing solution delivery system which takes up a minimum amount of space. The photographic processor is extremely user-friendly and low maintenance.
A photographic processor in the form of circular drum is described in, for example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/027,382, while a chemical delivery system for delivering processing solution to a drum is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/108,141. In a circular processing drum as described above, it is necessary to mount the drum in a manner that it can be rotated. These mounting assemblies can be made of a tubing or shaft that allows the passage of chemicals or processing solution into an out of the processing chamber. Delivery tubes can be mounted on a center shaft that does not rotate so as to permit the supply and extraction of processing solution from a center location positioned of the processing drum. The arrangement of the chemical or processing solution delivery system of the present invention is located so as to take up a minimum amount of space within the processing drum, and also permit easy access for maintenance of the processing drum.
The present invention accordingly provides for a photographic processor which comprises a circular processing drum for processing photographic film, with an inside surface of a perimeter of the drum defining a film path for film to be processed; a disk positioned inside the drum, with the disk comprising disk teeth along at least a portion of an outer perimeter of the drum which are capable of interengaging with holes along an edge of film in the film path, with the disk further comprising a central opening; a tubular shaft having one end positioned at the central opening of the disk; and at least one processing solution delivery tube extending through the tubular shaft. The at least one processing solution delivery tube has a first end associated with a processing solution source and a second end which opens to the film path in the circular processing drum.
The present invention also relates to a method of processing photographic film which comprises the steps of inserting film into a film path in a circular processing drum, with the film path extending along an inside surface of a perimeter of the drum; providing a disk having teeth thereon within the drum, with the disk comprising a central opening with a tubular shaft positioned at the central opening; conveying film along the film path by interengaging the teeth on the disk with holes along an edge of the film in the film path and rotating the disk; and supplying processing solution to the film path and the processing drum through at least one solution delivery tube that extends through the tubular shaft and opens to the film path.
The present invention further provides for a photographic processor which comprises a circular processing drum for processing photographic film, with an inside surface of a perimeter of the drum defining a film path for film to be processed; a tubular shaft mounted at a rotational axis of the processing drum; and at least one processing solution delivery tube extending through the tubular shaft. The at least one processing solution delivery tube having a first end associated with a processing solution source and a second end which opens to the film path in the circular processing drum.
The present invention further relates to a method of processing photographic film which comprises the steps of inserting film into a film path in a circular processing drum, with the film path extending along an inside surface of a perimeter of the drum; and supplying processing solution to the film path through at least one solution delivery tube which extends through a tubular shaft that is mounted at a rotational axis of the circular processing drum.